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COHORT 1 PARTICIPANT

Sahar Yousefi

Sahar Yousefi is a producer based in Toronto. Her latest feature, the Telefilm-funded documentary PLAY YOUR GENDER, won the Edith Lando Peace Prize, among other accolades, and is currently playing on CBC’s Documentary Channel.

Prior to establishing Nava Projects, Yousefi was a researcher and production coordinator at the National Film Board of Canada, where she worked on various documentaries and interactive new media projects, such the award-winning NFB SPACE SCHOOL. Yousefi also worked as a business manager for various property development companies for several years. As an independent producer, she produced four narrative shorts, including A SUICIDE AT THE GUN RANGE (2015) and PLAY REWIND PLAY (2016), as well as content commissioned by various international clients, such as branded series for Mirum Agency and editorial documentaries for VICE Arabia.

Yousefi has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dalhousie University and is an alumnus of the Atlantic Filmmakers Cooperative’s Film 5 Program and the Shaw Media Diverse Voices Program. She is a member of the Canadian Media Producer’s Association, the Documentary Organization of Canada, and Women in Film & Television. Yousefi is currently developing series with the support of various broadcasters, such as Bell Media and the CBC. Her development slate also includes projects with award-winning filmmakers, including Amirah Tajdin (2018 Sundance Lab, 2015 Cannes Director’s Fortnight), Lina Roessler (2017 TIFF Talent Lab, 2019 TIFF Writer’s Studio), Blain Watters (SLEEPING GIANT, 2015 Cannes International Critics Week), and Yassmina Karajah (2018 Russo Brothers Fellowship Award, MoMA New Directors/New Films 2018), among others.